Il Segreto: The Secret
by Dark Elixar Wizard
Summary: Triela's been injured, but since the agency is running out of money, she resolves to keep the pain at bay...without letting Hilshire know. As the missions go on, as her condition worsen, will she have the ability to actually release her feelings? No fluff. Rated T (because anybody who watches Gunslinger Girl can read T rated stuff) Enjoy!
1. 1: Scopirire (Discover)

Triela anger was kindled when she saw Angelica's prone body lying motionless on the floor of the abandoned observatory, paleness tinting her friend's fair face. The blonde's gait became slightly altered when she picked up the object from the floor, running toward the path of light.

"Triela," Hilshire called, cupping his hands to his mouth. His voice carried against the breeze, and his black hair kept blowing in his face, "What happened?"

"Angelica's injured. Rico and Henrietta are still in there." Triela answered in abrupt accuracy. "I'm going back in…"

"Don't!" Hilshire's ordered caused her to pause briefly. "I want you to stay out here and keep an eye on that exit. Nobody has watched it for a while, except for me, and I was going to check around back. Just stay here until I get back."

"Fine," Putting her shotgun to her shoulder, Triela stood ramrod still, blue eyes suspiciously eyeing the dim brown door.

Suddenly, out of nowhere came an explosion. Triela clapped her hands to her ears and dropped to the floor, escaping the smoke. A dark figure ran past her before she could reach out and grab it. Spluttering, jumped up and easily overtook the fugitives steps. Using deft movements, she was able to apprehend his desperate attempts to get away.

"Triela? Are you okay?" Hilshire asked, fanning away the annoying and suffocating smoke.

"Yes sir. Just a scratch or two."

Checking over the man Triela had caught, Hilshire nodded approvingly. "This is our suspect Adriano Gostilli. Good job, let's go." The duo got into one of the waiting vans and exited the area.

As Hishire detained the man in the agency's prison before calling the Italian police, Triela arrived back at her room, where Claus was casually reading a book on meteorites. "What's with the grim face."

"Oh, nothing." Triela waved it off with a little laugh. But as soon as she reached the bathroom of the dormitory, she doubled over, holding her stomach as if it contained a tiger. The pain was intense, like fire, but it wasn't going away, not like other injuries she had sustained.

She undressed; she knew the sight was going to be hideous. A large wound nearly covered her entire, toned abdomen. The area around it was angry yellow and oozing blood from the action it received that day.

"I-I guess I'll put some iodine on it." Smearing the white paste over the injury proved to be much more painful than she had anticipated…causing her to do anything she could from crying out. The stoic cyborg killer did not remember a time she felt pain like this. Maybe when she fought Pinocchio? No. When falling from a four story building? Maybe…but not quite.

It was as if someone was burning her alive, alive with piece of melted iron pressing against her chest.

"Triela?" Claus voice echoed in the small room. "Are you okay? You've been in there a long time."

"Yeah, I'm okay." Triela replied, contradicting herself again. "I'll be out in a moment."

_The agency is running out of money, so how can they afford to fix a simple injury like mine. If Hilshire finds out, he'll get mad. I have to keep this a secret. The pain is something I can cope with for a while. _

But little did she know, what a disaster that would turn into…


	2. 2 Risolutezza (determination)

"Triela!" Rico's cheerful voice reached Triela's ears as she turned the corner of the dorm. "Wanna come with me and go eat at the cafeteria?"

"Thanks, but I'm good." Truth be told, the thought of _sitting down to eat_, let alone eating itself made her feel sick. "Why don't you go with Claes."

Rico made a wry face. "But everything she talks about is rocks and plants!"

Shaking her head, the blonde twintail girl responded, "Yes, that means she's happy. But I guess I can manage to stay with you." Forcing herself to walk, she said to herself. _If I can just sit this out, I can go to bed, and rest. You can do this, Triela!_

Rico's blue eyes squinted deep into her face. Triela felt uncomfortable, for she knew that the short, boyish girl was exceptionally empathetic and great intuition, and could sense if another cyborg was distressed. "Is something wrong, Triela?"

"Uh…no. Nothing in fact. Isn't it nice, today." She adverted her gaze nervously. "Let's get going. Today's mission was tiring." The fire continued to spread through her abdomen, each step creating a sensation of cold, relentless burning. It made her want to curl up and die, but she knew she couldn't give up that easily.

The two friends continued down the hall. Beatrice was leaning against the door, staring emotionlessly at the wall. "Hi."

"Hi Bea!" Rico called energetically, swinging the door open. Beatrice acknowledge the greeting with a nod of her head.

"The lunch was good today. Pasta with meat sauce and garlic bread. Tasted nice."

It was evident when Rico had a large appetite, as she took a big plateful of nearly everything and sat down to eat. Her cheerful demeanor, however, declined to the point where even Triela noticed, despite being distracted with the pain.

"Cat's got your tongue.?"

"No…" Rico's personality was…of. So much, even Claus, across the room came over.

"Rico, are you feeling okay? You aren't talking at fifty words per second, so I assume that you aren't feeling well."

"No!" Rico stood up abruptly, pointing her finger directly at Triela, who had her hands up in defense. "_She's _the one who's hurt."

"Wha…?" Claus, momentarily stunned, looked at Triela for proof. She shrugged and said,

"I'm fine. Really. Just a small wound…really." The words felt like acid in her mouth, burning, tearing, overpowering acid that just made her want to stop talking.

"I smell blood." Rico's simple statement made everyone stop and stare at her.

"What?"

"I do. We're supposed to have really good sense. So I smell blood. On you, Triela." Her ocean blue eyes stared straight into her face. "You are hiding something."

**Okay! That went….different than what I expected. But hey, if I enjoyed writing this, then its all good. Now if you will enjoy it…..**


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